The 22nd Africa Senior Athletics Championships concluded Sunday at the Cote d’Or National Sports Complex in Reduit, Mauritius, with Yego retaining his javelin championship with a second throw of 79.69 meters, a season’s best.
Kenya once again topped the medal standings with 23 medals, including 10 gold, five silver, and eight bronze, thanks to Yego’s victory, which was his fourth at the continental championship.
Kenya won 11 medals on the fifth and final day, including five gold, three silver, and three bronze, to take first place for the fifth time, following Cairo in 1982, Rabat in 1984, Nairobi in 2010 and Asaba in 2018.
South Africa came in second with 36 medals (9 gold, 13 silver, and 14 bronze), followed by Nigeria with 36 medals (9 gold, 13 silver, and 14 bronze).
Algeria came in fourth place with nine medals, including five gold, three silver, and one bronze, followed by Algeria 14 (4-6-4) and Botswana 7. (4-2-1).
Yego, who is also the incumbent African Games champion, has won at Porto Novo, Benin in 2012, Marrakech, Morocco in 2014, and Asaba, Nigeria in 2018.
Yego, the 2015 World champion, got his revenge quickly as he beat Egypt’s 2010 Africa champion Ihab Al Sayed Abdelrahman to second place with 77.12m, while South Africa’s Phillippus Marthinus took bronze with 74.10m.
Yego had finished second in the Kip Kieno Classic on May 7 in Nairobi, losing to Abdelrahman.
Alexander Kiprotich, Yego’s compatriot, finished sixth with a throw of 70.36.
“Besides aiming to retain my title, I really wanted to attain the World Championships qualifying standards, but the heavy rains and gusting winds couldn’t allow a good throw,” said Yego. “I feel I am in good shape and hope to attain that at the trials.”
Yego will have to throw 85m if he hopes to qualify for the World Athletics Championships planned for July 15 to 24 in Oregon, United States.
